Real estate leaders have cast doubt on government plans to unblock the planning system and build more homes around cities, partly via permitted development rights to redevelop shops, arguing the proposals will merely "paper over the cracks" of major shortages and potentially weaken town centre retail capacity.
In a statement, Housing and Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove said the government will take steps to "unblock the bottlenecks" in the planning system that are slowing down development and thwarting growth and investment.
The plans include a £24 million Planning Skills Delivery Fund "to clear backlogs and get the right skills in place", while a new "super-squad" team of leading planners and other experts will be created to "unblock major housing developments".
Cambridge will be the initial focus of the team, where the government is looking to build a quarter of a million homes to serve an expanding technology sector to rival Silicon Valley in the US.
New "flexibilities" to convert shops, takeaways and betting shops into homes will also help to "rejuvenate the high street", according to the government, which said it will cut red tape to enable barn conversions and the repurposing of agricultural buildings and disused warehouses.
But experts have warned the proposals around shops-to-housing could create "substandard residential accommodation", if it is not managed properly, and further damage struggling UK high streets.
Critics have argued that the plans fail to go far enough and will have no "real impact" on shortages, with proposals making it easier for shops to be converted into homes raising fears among planning experts.
Knight Frank head of planning Stuart Baillie said the wider government proposals were "unlikely to have meaningful impact on housing supply". He added: "It’s likely that the output of this policy will only create hundreds of new homes, instead of the many thousands needed to make a real impact on the UK’s significant housing shortage.
"This policy will only paper over the cracks, instead of getting to the heart of the issue facing the UK’s overburdened and under-resourced planning system. In many instances, residential amenity would be compromised by a town centre location, particularly ground floor retail, meaning conversion or redevelopment would be limited to fringe and out-of-town areas.
"Local planning authorities will be very concerned that the proposals could create a loss of retail capacity, impact local retail amenity and reduce the vitality of already struggling town centres that have fallen victim to the rise of online shopping in recent years.
He added: "If the plans are to work, local level strategies must be implemented to ensure core retail spaces are protected and the mix of uses within them remains balanced. We have seen from office to residential permitted development rights that, if the process isn’t properly managed, we could end up with substandard residential accommodation that does not meet local housing need."
Gove said in the speech: "The quality of the homes that we live in, the physical nature of our neighbourhoods and the design of our communities determines so much, our health, our happiness, our prosperity, our productivity all depend on where we live.
"That is why housing policy .... requires long-term thinking and a long-term plan. We are unequivocally, unapologetically and intensively concentrating our biggest efforts in the hearts of our cities because that is the right thing to do economically, environmentally and culturally.
"It is better for the environment, for productivity and for wellbeing if we use all of the levers that we have to promote urban regeneration, rather than swallowing up of virgin land. That's why we will enable brownfield development rather than greenbelt erosion."
The government's 10-point plan to unlock UK developments includes the regeneration of 20 UK cities and "super-charging Europe's science capital", Cambridge. It is also focusing on building greener homes and extending home "ownership to a new generation", with planning reform crucial to these ambitions.
Gove added: "All of these steps that we are taking...are the components of a long-term plan, for safe, decent, warm, beautiful homes for all... the comprehensive and coherent nature of our plan demonstrates the seriousness of intent in improving the supply of new homes."
British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech said: "The BPF has supported Permitted Development Rights to accelerate the conversion of redundant retail and commercial space and revitalise high streets, but ‘quality control’ is critical. Not all commercial buildings are suitable for conversion to homes, and the priority must be to ensure that we are creating good quality homes where people want to live."
"Greater use of PDR must be just one element of an integrated strategy to create thriving town and city centres," she added.
Victoria Du Croz, head of planning and partner at Forsters law firm, said a focus on inner cities "makes sense", with the government cautious about building on the green belt. But she argued the proposals failed to recognise the vital importance of a cohesive vision for our towns and cities, with housing making up just on element.
"Neither brownfield sites or conversions of office to resiential have delivered the number of new homes that are needed across the country to date. Re-focusing on these planning mechanisms, by expanding permitted development rights to shop and commercial conversions is unlikely to boost housing numbers to the levels that are needed."
In the speech Gove said the government was working with local leaders and communities in Cambridge to build a new quarter, featuring new homes "supported by state of the art facilities with cutting-edge laboratories and green spaces". He said 10 Downing Street would also look to boost lab capacity, highlighting long waits for business looking to move into the area.
Simon Burson, partner and head of the Cambridge office at real estate law firm BDB Pitmans, predicted the plans for Cambridge would "do little more than gather headlines and dust" following other similar plans in recent years.
"New and affordable housing is undoubtedly needed, but 250,000 new homes are unlikely to be welcomed locally. The proposed rewrite will need to overcome long term issues affecting housing in the region, not just the planning conditions but also the lack of infrastructure and water in the driest part of the country. Space in the city and its surrounding areas is already tight and housing alone will not create a rival to Silicon Valley.
"It should of course be remembered that a tax and commercial environment that encourages businesses to relocate, grow and stay in the City is needed. It is a complex picture and one that is not only built on real estate."